From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
I see students doing many things. I am observing an Environmental Science class at 8:00 am on a Thursday. Students are working in teams to design a poster about the history of the Roger Williams Zoo. They went on a field trip to the Zoo the day before and they are reflecting on what they learned and on the purpose of the Zoo and how the Zoo changed over time
Talking to a partner about their project
Looking at cell phone under the desk
Head down on table
Staring into space
Looking at the Zoo photographs
More cell phone usage
Writing notes about the Zoo
Working on their summary
More staring into space
Drawing a picture not related to the poster
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
I see my CT talking to the students. Asking them what they are doing on their posters. Asking them if they need help or more ideas. When the CT is talking to the students they are mostly engaged when she goes on to another table they often lose focus and motivation. Occasionally when there is a table that is doing absolutely nothing the CT goes and sits down with them, engaging them until they start to work on the project.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Student engagement is very important to teaching. Only engaged students can perform higher level thinking and learning. Strategies I plan to use to encourage engagement will be questioning, group work, create a culture of accountability and a desire to learn. For questioning I can use a variety of techniques; sometimes ask for volunteers or other times use cold calling, or a group discussion where students call on the next person to answer. Using a variety of questioning techniques helps build the culture of accountability because you can get called on even if you are sleeping in class. Group work also works towards the goal of accountability. By working in teams students have the desire to help their peers to stay on task and complete an assignment. Group work has to be managed carefully to make sure the dynamic is productive. I also hope to convey to the students that the activities I am asking them to do are important. Personally I get frustrated when I am asked to do an assignment that I do not feel is worth my time. As a teacher it will be my job to select activities that are worth the student’s attention and to explain to them why it is in their best interest to complete the work and to remain engaged in the classroom.
Proximity is another technique which can be used to engage a student. If you see a student not paying attention simply walking towards their desk could get them to focus on the class. It can also be used if you see students doing inappropriate things like using their cell phones. Walking around the classroom also allows for the teacher to give feedback. This is what I observed my CT doing as her students worked in groups on their posters. She would ask questions, give suggestions and help groups that were stuck. Proximity is difficult if you are lecturing using a power point or smart board but breaks in the lesson where students work on a problem or think about a question give the teacher time to move about the classroom.
I see students doing many things. I am observing an Environmental Science class at 8:00 am on a Thursday. Students are working in teams to design a poster about the history of the Roger Williams Zoo. They went on a field trip to the Zoo the day before and they are reflecting on what they learned and on the purpose of the Zoo and how the Zoo changed over time
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
I see my CT talking to the students. Asking them what they are doing on their posters. Asking them if they need help or more ideas. When the CT is talking to the students they are mostly engaged when she goes on to another table they often lose focus and motivation. Occasionally when there is a table that is doing absolutely nothing the CT goes and sits down with them, engaging them until they start to work on the project.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Student engagement is very important to teaching. Only engaged students can perform higher level thinking and learning. Strategies I plan to use to encourage engagement will be questioning, group work, create a culture of accountability and a desire to learn. For questioning I can use a variety of techniques; sometimes ask for volunteers or other times use cold calling, or a group discussion where students call on the next person to answer. Using a variety of questioning techniques helps build the culture of accountability because you can get called on even if you are sleeping in class. Group work also works towards the goal of accountability. By working in teams students have the desire to help their peers to stay on task and complete an assignment. Group work has to be managed carefully to make sure the dynamic is productive. I also hope to convey to the students that the activities I am asking them to do are important. Personally I get frustrated when I am asked to do an assignment that I do not feel is worth my time. As a teacher it will be my job to select activities that are worth the student’s attention and to explain to them why it is in their best interest to complete the work and to remain engaged in the classroom.
Proximity is another technique which can be used to engage a student. If you see a student not paying attention simply walking towards their desk could get them to focus on the class. It can also be used if you see students doing inappropriate things like using their cell phones. Walking around the classroom also allows for the teacher to give feedback. This is what I observed my CT doing as her students worked in groups on their posters. She would ask questions, give suggestions and help groups that were stuck. Proximity is difficult if you are lecturing using a power point or smart board but breaks in the lesson where students work on a problem or think about a question give the teacher time to move about the classroom.